Nipponica

The plane is Japan Airlines' second Myaku-Myaku jet designated to fly abroad from Japan. On the aircraft, drinks are served in paper cups with the Myaku-Myaku design on them. The plane will fly until August next year to promote the expo to the world.

It is worth it to look up photos of this nightmare fuel. I can't believe that this character design made it past any kind of committee.

Leading Japanese retailer Aeon will take on 4,000 skilled foreign workers groupwide by fiscal 2030 amid severe labor shortages in Japan's food service sector, Nikkei has learned.

The Aeon group currently employs around 1,500 under Japan's Specified Skilled Worker program, which targets foreign workers with specialized skills in shorthanded industries. They work largely at food-processing plants that supply Aeon supermarkets.

Executives from South Korea’s Naver and Japan’s SoftBank Group said they would jointly own the operator of Line, a South Korean-developed messaging app popularized in Japan. They gave the project a code name that emphasized cooperation: Gaia.

But late last year, cracks started opening in the Naver-Softbank venture.

Paywalled, but a good retelling of a century of strained relations between Japan and South Korea through the tale of a little green app called Line. For me, the cute stickers are the only good part of the Line ecosystem. The messaging portion of the app remains much like it was a decade ago and competitors like WhatsApp and Messages are taking laps around it. But it is still the king of text communication in Japan and no one seems able to topple it.

Residents of the Noto Peninsula in central Japan have been witnessing a curious surge in tourists, a mere five months after the region was severely damaged by a major earthquake.

While some see the boost in tourism as a positive -- a way for people to grasp the reality of the situation in the region amid growing concerns of a drop in visitors following the New Year's Day temblor -- others argue the trend of people traveling to the remote peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture is a form of "dark tourism."

There are people that are bringing supplies or other aid, as cited in the article. But the “dark tourism” is very real and a similar phenomenon to the proliferation of true crime stories and podcasts that flooded the market since the Serialification of the medium.

For generations, “nommunication” – or drinking with colleagues after work – has been credited with fostering corporate spirit in Japanese firms, releasing office tensions and building close professional relationships.

Now, a new study suggests that despite the well-documented risks to health, smoking performs a similar function in the Japanese workplace.

Having lived in Japan before and after the 2020 indoor smoking ban, izakayas are much much MUCH more tolerable to be in for long periods of time. Smoking will go out of style as the older generations leave the workplace. So, let's say, by the year 2100?

Moves are underway to introduce a lodging tax on hotel and inn guests in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost main island and home to many spots popular with international tourists, including renowned ski resorts and hot springs.

Unlike the temple tax that I wrote about the other day in Himeji, I think this is a more appropriate way to profit off of tourism, especially for the smaller towns like Kutchan and Niseko.

It is the first time since June last year for Japan to be on the "monitoring" list. In its biannual report to Congress, the department also placed six other economies on the list -- China, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Back on the naughty step.

In simplest terms, Japan’s problem is sclerosis. The country’s economic policymakers have opted for stability, halting the “creative destruction” that promotes innovation and delivers prosperity. “Among all rich countries, it is Japan where new companies find it hardest to get the external funding that is needed for growth. Consequently, the birth and death rate of companies has plunged and is now one of the lowest among 27 rich countries.”

A book review of The Contest for Japan’s Economic Future by Richard Katz. In my own personal experience in the country, this tendency towards risk-aversion and stability is very real.

Australia's Qantas Airways has joined a number of carriers forgoing scheduling flights to and from regional Japanese airports as Japan faces a ground airport staff shortage and an acute fuel shortage also looms.

Earlier this year, Qantas had been assessing recommencing seasonal flying to Sapporo for the next ski season in Hokkaido in the north. But a specific plan did not materialize due to supplier constraints at the airport, including labor shortages. Qantas had discussions with local airport stakeholders but did not enter the government filing process, and thus did not schedule any flights.

The article cites closing domestic oil refineries and trucker shortages as the reasons for these decreases in service. Once those are addressed, one would hope that these carriers return, but there is no guarantee. For Sapporo and other destinations in Hokkaido especially, it would be a huge blow to tourism and connectivity for residents.

Japanticket Inc., one of the partners in the project, said it started to sell tours in which travelers will fly on HondaJets to Toyama, Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures. These tours are aimed at foreign tourists, with ticket prices starting at 1.5 million yen ($9,500) per person.

Definitely out of my price range and definitely not the market for the common traveler. But this could be a first step to build out a domestic aircraft manufacturer that could complete with some markets.